EditorialProgress and projectsAs would be expected, our annual Progress Report in this weeks issue reflects the state of the economy. From businesses to community activists, individuals and organizations are feeling the impact, and figuring out what it all means for their goals and expectations.

New St. Brigids must be more than a vanilla boxBy Roland Legiardi-Laura
Like many people in our community I was ecstatic last spring when I learned that after years of confrontational struggle between the archdiocese and the neighborhood, St. Brigids Church had finally been saved.

Obituary

Dave Smith, 90, Penn South leader, co-op housing advocateBy Albert Amateau
David L. Smith, a leader in the nations co-operative housing movement and locally in the Penn South co-op, where he lived for 46 years and served as president and chairman for more than two decades, died Sat., March 14, at age 90.

Serving West and East Village, Chelsea, SoHo, NoHo, Little Italy, Chinatown and the Lower East Side

Villager photo by J.B. Nicholas

Hero officers are honoredFamily and friends of Auxiliary Officers Eugene Marshalik and Nicholas Pekearo gathered with community members and more than 100 regular police and auxiliary officers at Sullivan and Bleecker Sts. Saturday to unveil honorary street signs for the heroic volunteer patrol partners. Marshalik, 19, an N.Y.U. sophomore, and Pekearo, 28, a fiction writer and native Villager, were slain two years ago near the intersection by a disturbed gunman who had just killed a restaurant worker nearby on Houston St. Above, Marshaliks parents, Boris, second from left, and Maya  his mother looking up at her sons new sign while holding one they were given to keep. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Councilmember Chris Quinn spoke at the unveiling, which was also attended by Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler. Kelly said the signs will ensure that millions will never forget the two mens bravery.

BID is building momentum and is delivering results By Jennifer Falk
Union Square is New Yorks ultimate neighborhood destination, home to the citys oldest Greenmarket, the best restaurants and shops and a historic park that serves as an oasis in the midst of a bustling metropolis.

C.B. 3 approves 4 of 6 street closings along Allen/Pike mallBy Albert Amateau
The Transportation Committee of Community Board 3 last week voted a qualified approval of a Department of Transportation initiative to connect the Allen and Pike St. malls and prohibit vehicle crossing at four intersections to make pedestrians safer.

Park in sky chugging along toward June opening
By Katie Lorah
In just a few months, the first section of the High Line will open to the public. Section 1 of the park runs through the Meatpacking District and the southernmost blocks of Chelsea...

Beethoven & Kaufman: Six Degrees, 33 VariationsBy Jerry Tallmer
In history-rich Bonn, Germany, the voluminous archives of native son Ludwig Van Beethoven  letters, diaries, manuscripts, ledgers, payments, receipts, and above all, miles and miles of scribbled over sheet music  are sternly kept under lock and key in the Beethoven-haus.